Ken has used a carnivore diet to heal his severe eczema and chronic joint pain. He has experienced amazing results and is confident that he can maintain long-term success.
I hope you as inspired as I am after reading Ken’s story!
Please introduce yourself briefly.
My name is Ken Nelson. I am presently living in the south part of Taiwan. I’ve been here with my wife and 3 boys for approximately 12 years. We own and run a coffee shop and American style bakery, specialising in handmade goods and roasted coffee.
Among trying to keep fit at the ripe old age of 60, I work out in a gym weight training at least 2 or 3 times a week. I enjoy paragliding and paramotoring in the mountains as well as rollerblading and motorcycling.
How long have you followed a carnivore diet?
I’ve been following a carnivore for approximately 2 years. Although owning a coffee shop with handmade baked goods hasn’t been all that easy. So cheating…if I can call it that was a regular thing for the duration of most of the first say…16 months.
How did you hear about carnivory? What was your first impression of eating animal foods exclusively?
I never really thought of going complete carnivore. It just never occurred to me until I was watching one Youtuber named The Flat Earth Asshole… at the time at least and he was experimenting with just eating raw beef. That started the wheels turning.
All of a sudden things started making a Hell of a lot of sense to me. Something I’ve been looking for my whole life. It was such a feeling of elation.
What made you want to try this WOE for yourself? Where were you coming from at the time?
I started working out in my twenties with the mindset of always keeping fit as long as I could. I really believe people don’t die from old age…but of neglect.
Things became hectic and busy in my thirties and let things go as far as keeping fit…although I’ve always been slim and fit looking.
When I hit my forties I started noticing my knee joints started aching and I developed tendonitis in my forearms. I think that was from holding my boys while shopping. I’d put them down after an hour and my arms would stiffen up.
All through this time growing up…I always had this thought in the back of my mind and concern about what we, as humans should really be eating. I thought we must really be stupid not knowing what our true diet should be.
When I came to Taiwan I wanted to start back in the gym and build my body up and get back on track. This is when I realised that…that wasn’t going to be easy. My joint pain and forearm tendonitis pain were too much to bear and only got worse.
I don’t remember how I came upon the Paleo diet but trying it gave me a new lease on life. Just basically eliminating grains had alleviated all my achy joints and tendonitis.
Things went well for a couple of years or whatever the timeline was until I developed some type of eczema.
That’s when I decided I needed to tighten things up with my diet even more. I always believed diet was the answer despite what doctors said to the contrary.
Was starting a carnivore diet hard? Were there any unexpected flare-ups or side effects?
It was easy for me at first and still is. All good things…nothing bad. My body loved this new way of eating and adjusted very easily.
How long until you saw results? What is your marker of “healing”?
My whole so-called eczema skin trouble was the result of dermatologists…many of them… abusing and recklessly prescribing steroid creams, injections, orals and a host of other immune-suppressing drugs over the course of a few years. Started small the just got worse and worse until I looked like I had third-degree burns all over my body.
Thank God for the Internet. lol… I found out about ‘red-skin syndrome’ or steroid-induced something.
I was never one to subscribe to doctor’s drugs or big Pharma but the itching around my neck was driving me crazy and keeping me up at night. It took me to get off the drugs for over a year to rid my body of the effects and get back to normal again. That first year was Hell. I got much worse before I started seeing any healing taking place.
While I was in the healing phase being on the carnivore diet really helped speed things up. I found that a lot of foods that were plant-based triggered flair ups and itching.
I’ve been hardcore carnivore the last 3 months and that’s when I really was able to free myself of all the symptoms of eczema.
Were your family and friends supportive of your choices?
My family is supportive of my diet and lifestyle but don’t follow me. My wife is Taiwanese and makes her own food choices…which is too bad. I know she would do well on this WOE. Right now she is overweight and could lose a few pounds. Maybe in the future. Right now she is pretty amazed at the progress I’ve made with my skin condition.
Do you track macros or calories?
I don’t track macros or calories. This has never interested me. I don’t really see the need. At least not in my case. I’m slim…I’d like to put weight on if possible but doesn’t seem too likely with this WOE.
Do you supplement with anything?
I don’t supplement with anything. I think it’s all basically junk. In my eyes most things if not all that are manufactured by Man is garbage and will end up in the toilet. I think [the whole industry] is about money and creating something to sell. We don’t need them.
What is your current view of vegetables and plant foods?
My take on plant food is they don’t do us any good. We can’t digest them. I believe the plant fiber in our gut just creates an unfriendly environment.
Do you ever think of reintroducing plant material to your diet? Would you perhaps do so in the future? (Could be anything from herbs to white rice to mushrooms to berries, etc) If you have reintroduced something, what was it and what happened?
I found that when my body is used to eating meat only and I eat something like a mango it feels like I have a dead fish in my stomach. It’s a feeling so heavy and indigestible that I just want to lay down. People think meat causes farting and gas, but it’s really the opposite. If I eat blueberries I fart like there is no tomorrow.
Do you ever miss a specific food, meal, or texture?
I do miss some foods. I am a lover of bread and things of that nature. I wish I didn’t get colds, flu’s and achy joints or a bloated gut when I eat them.
What does a typical day of eating look like for you? What did you eat today?
My diet basically consists of various cuts of beef steaks, ground beef, cooked blood, and eggs. I’ve tried reintroducing dairy back a few times but lately, it’s been causing a lot of mucus, congestion and some skin flareups, so I rarely have dairy. I do love it so though. There was a time I was making my own kefir from raw milk…but stopped that because of skin flareups.
Final Thoughts
Doctors couldn’t help but only make [my condition] worse with their drugs that messed up my adrenal glands. I had this issue for years and life was Hell at times.
The carnivore diet cured me and got my life back.
I’m 60 now and all my joint pain has gone as well and I feel great. I’m even back inline skating twice a week and my knees never better.
There really is nothing better than being the best ‘you’.
Among a host of other things, being carnivore has enabled me to get back in the gym after suffering from forearm tendonitis and joint pain for years.